Fuel additive dispensation method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

One or more fuel additives ( 24, 25 ) are selected via a fuel additive selector ( 26 ) by an end user and automatically combined by a combiner ( 28 ) with a liquid fuel ( 21 ) upon dispensation into an end user&#39;s fuel container ( 42 ). In various embodiments the selector can provide information of various kinds to the end user regarding the available and/or selected fuel additives. In various embodiments the liquid fuel and fuel additive(s) are combined prior to introduction into the end user&#39;s fuel container and/or upon introduction to the end user&#39;s fuel container.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to fuel additives and to thedispensation of fuel additives to an end user.

BACKGROUND

Liquid fuels of various kinds are known in the art. In general suchfuels serve to provide a desired form of energy when consumed in somecontrolled fashion (such as, for example, during combustion). Manyliquid fuels, however, can provide better overall performance and/orserve one or more additional purposes when used in conjunction with oneor more fuel additives. Various fuel additives are known in the art andinclude generally additives that improve such things as combustibility,storage characteristics, resultant characteristic emissions, and soforth. Some fuel additives serve in many ways to improve theperformance, efficiency, or longevity of many engines when used properlyand can even aid in accommodating or even offsetting the effects ofengine age, duty cycle, frequency of usage, and so forth.

In large measure, the use of many fuel additives is presently determinedby legislative fiat and/or by the fuel supplier. An end user willtypically have little choice with respect to what additives are providedwith a given liquid fuel. Furthermore, in most cases, the end user willoften be significantly challenged to ascertain the specific additivesthat are included, or excluded, in a given liquid fuel as dispensed froma given liquid fuel dispensing station. As a result, most end users arelikely relatively ignorant about fuel additives in general and/or whatfuel additives, if any, may be present in a given liquid fuel asdispensed at a given fuel dispensing station.

Some fuel additives are available as an after-market product.Knowledgeable end users who can obtain a particular desired fueladditive are then able to personally add the selected fuel additive to aliquid fuel after dispensation of that fuel by the fuel supplier. Suchan approach, while satisfactory to a limited extent, leaves much to bedesired. The desired additive may not be conveniently available whenrequired. Furthermore, even a knowledgeable end user may facedifficulties in adding an appropriate quantity of the selected fueladditive to a recently dispensed quantity of fuel. As a result, evenwhen available and even when used by a knowledgeable end user, presentfuel additive paradigms can often lead to a misapplication and/or misuseof the additive or additives of choice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above needs are at least partially met through provision of the fueladditive dispensation method and apparatus described in the followingdetailed description, particularly when studied in conjunction with thedrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 comprises a flow diagram as configured in accordance with variousembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 comprises a block diagram as configured in accordance withvarious embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 comprises a detail schematic representation as configured inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 comprises a schematic depiction as configured in accordance withan embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 comprises a schematic depiction as configured in accordance withvarious embodiments of the invention.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help toimprove understanding of various embodiments of the present invention.Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessaryin a commercially feasible embodiment are typically not depicted inorder to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodimentsof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally speaking, pursuant to these various embodiments, an end usercan be provided with an opportunity at an end-user liquid fuel dispenserto select at least one fuel additive to be added to a liquid fuel upondispensation of that fuel to the end user. In a preferred embodiment theselected fuel additive (or additives) is automatically combined with theliquid fuel in conjunction with such dispensation.

Pursuant to one embodiment, a plurality of fuel additives are availablefor selection by the end user. The end user will preferably be able toselect none, one, or more than one of the available fuel additives forcombination with the liquid fuel. Pursuant to a preferred approach,there will also be a plurality of liquid fuels to choose from (forexample, gasoline formulations having different octane content). The enduser will then have the opportunity to select both a given liquid fuelfrom amongst a plurality of fuel candidates and one or more fueladditives from amongst a plurality of fuel additive candidates.

So configured, an end user can select specific fuel additives to suitthe end user's unique needs and requirements. For example, fueladditives that are particularly suited to meet the needs of a particularengine (taking into account, for example, various relevant parameterssuch as engine type and/or age) can be selected by an end user withoutrequiring a special (likely costly) custom formulation from the fuelsupplier. Other benefits will become more evident upon making a thoroughreview and study of the following detailed description.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary process 10 can be based upon, orcan optionally include, the provision of a liquid fuel 11, at least onefuel additive 12, and a fuel additive selection interface 13. The liquidfuel can comprise any liquid fuel including, but not limited to,gasoline, diesel fuel, bio-diesel fuel, kerosene, propane, hydrogen,butane, and so forth. And, as will be shown below in more detail, morethan one liquid fuel can be provided as may best suit the needs of agiven situation. In a similar fashion, virtually any fuel additive canbe provided as well. A non-exhaustive but exemplary listing mightinclude any of:

-   -   an antioxidant;    -   a dispersant;    -   a cetane improver;    -   a combustion improver;    -   a detergent;    -   a fuel-borne catalyst;    -   a catalyst protector;    -   a catalytic converter poison scavenger;    -   a friction modifier;    -   a lubricity additive;    -   an octane improver;    -   a colorant;    -   a marker;    -   an identifying odor; and/or    -   a mixture of any of any two or more of the above.

Specific examples of potentially useful fuel additives can include butare not limited to organic nitrates, such as 2-ethyl hexyl nitrate,manganese-containing compounds, such as methylcyclopentadienyl manganesetricarbonyl, available as MMT® Performance Additive from EthylCorporation, esters, amides, amines and carboxylic acids useful as fuellubricity additives such as HiTEC® 4848A available from EthylCorporation, and Paraflow and Paradyne available from Infineum USA LP,Flozol and Lubrizol-brand Fuel Additives available from LubrizolCorporation, PURADD and ZEREX available from BASF, Winter Thaw andNalfleet available from Ondeo Nalco, YF Special and Yellow Winter and WP50 and VO12 and TT and Sure-flo and Spec-Aid available from GE BETZ,gasoline and diesel fuel additives available from Octel Starreon LLC,AFS 106 PPD and HT 4130 and SDA 5000 and WDA 1000 Plus and Altraavailable from Allegheny Petroleum Products Company, fuel additivesavailable from ELF Aquitane, and OGA available from Chevron Oronite, andSlick 50 from Pennzoil Quaker State, and detergent packages such asHiTEC® 6423 and HiTEC® 6423 N available from Ethyl Corporation, and SAPavailable from Infineum USA LP. Other known fuel additives useful in thepresent invention are included on the Environmental Protection Agency'slist of fuel additives found on their website athttp://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/additive/web-addt.txt, all of whichare incorporated herein by reference as if fully recited herein.

As will be exemplified in more detail below, the fuel additive selectioninterface serves, as a usual minimum, to provide a mechanism whereby anend user can select to add a given fuel additive to the dispensation ofthe liquid fuel. As appropriate, such an interface can further serve topermit the end user to select one or more fuel additives from amongst aplurality of available fuel additives and/or to otherwise select,control, or influence other characteristics or attributes of the fueladditive dispensation process (such as, for example, influencing notonly the selection of a particular fuel additive but the proportion bywhich such fuel additive will be combined with the liquid fuel upondispensation).

Pursuant to a preferred embodiment, upon receiving 14 an end user fueladditive selection (via, for example, the fuel additive selectioninterface) and further upon receiving 15 instructions from the end userregarding dispensation of the liquid fuel itself, the process 10 thendispenses 16 the liquid fuel as automatically combined with the selectedfuel additive or additives. As will be shown in more detail below, thereare various ways by which such combining can be realized to suit a widevariety of operating conditions and circumstances. It should also beunderstood that this process 10 will preferably accommodate a selectionby the end user of no fuel additives. When this occurs, the process 10will facilitate dispensing the liquid fuel sans any selectable fueladditives (it is also possible, of course, that the liquid fuel mayalready include or require combining with some non-selective fueladditives as may be required by law or otherwise).

Referring now to FIG. 2, an end-user fuel dispensing station 20 can beconfigured in a preferred embodiment to operate in conjunction with asupply of at least a first liquid fuel 21. In many settings (such as agasoline service station for automobiles and trucks), of course, manydiffering fuels may be available. To match this circumstance the fueldispensing station 20 will also likely frequently be configured tooperate in conjunction with additional supplies of liquid fuel 22 (forexample, a plurality of gasoline supplies wherein the supplies differfrom one another with respect to their respective octane ratings). Whena plurality of liquid fuel supplies are provided, it may also bepreferred to provide a fuel selector 23 that operably couples to thediffering supplies of liquid fuel to permit an end user to select aparticular one of the liquid fuels for dispensing. Such fuel selectors23 are well understood in the art and therefore additional detailsregarding such a selector will not be provided here for the sake ofbrevity.

A preferred end-user fuel dispensing station 20 will also be configuredto operate in conjunction with at least a supply of a first fueladditive 24. In one embodiment, additional fuel additive supplies 25 mayalso be present to offer a variety of fuel additive opportunities thatdiffer from one another (for example, such fuel additives may differfrom one another with respect to their chemical content or theirproportional chemical content). In particular, the end-user fueldispensing station 20 will preferably include a fuel additive selector26 that permits an end user to select the fuel additive 24 (or one ormore of the fuel additives when a plurality of fuel additive suppliesare available) to be combined with the dispensing of their selectedliquid fuel. Such a fuel additive selector 26 can be fully or partiallydiscrete with respect to any fuel selector 23 as may also be present or,if desired, can be integrated 27 fully or partially therewith. Suchintegration may better suit desired or required economies with respectto design and manufacture, performance capabilities, security concerns,accounting and billing functionality and so forth. On the other hand, adiscrete architecture may better suit the needs of many applicationsincluding, for example, retrofitting applications.

In general, and as noted above, this fuel additive selector 26 shouldpreferably comprise an interface that facilitates interaction with anend user. This interface can assume any appropriate form including butnot limited to a haptic interface (such as but not limited to one ormore push buttons, toggle switches, rotatable devices, touch sensitivedisplays, keys or keypad(s), and so forth), an audio interface (such asbut not limited to a speech recognizer), and/or a wireless interface(such as but not limited to a radio frequency identification tag-basedinterface, a radio frequency carrier-based interface, an opticalcarrier-based interface, an ultrasonic carrier-based interface, and soforth).

In some instances it may be desired to facilitate an automaticinterfacing with an end user. For example, the end user's vehicle may beprogrammed to be able to identify a precise fuel and fuel additivemixture that it requires or prefers and to communicate that informationvia a wireless link to the fuel additive selector 26. Such acommunication can be initiated as desired. Pursuant to one example thecommunication can be triggered by the end user by an explicitinstruction or action. Pursuant to another example, the communicationcan be automatically and autonomously triggered. As one illustration ofthe latter, the end user's vehicle can be provided with a radiofrequency identification tag-based mechanism that automaticallytransmits, when appropriately probed in accordance with well-understoodprior art technique, previously recorded data such as specific fueladditives to be combined with liquid fuel as introduced into thevehicle. Such a configuration would permit a given end user to receiveat least some of the benefits of these teachings without themselvesnecessarily being presently cognizant of the specific fuel additiveneeds and requirements of their vehicle.

The interface form factor of the fuel additive selector 26 can assumeany appropriate guise as appropriate to the needs of a given context. Toillustrate a few such possibilities, and referring momentarily to FIG.3, the fuel additive selector 26 can include a selection interface 31(such as the push button illustrated in FIG. 3). In a preferredembodiment, when more than one fuel additive is available for selection(alone or in combination with other selected fuel additives), additionalselection interfaces 32 can be similarly provided (such as the secondpush button illustrated in FIG. 3). Such interfaces can be presented, ina preferred approach, with one or more corresponding user-viewableindicia that relate to the fuel additives. For example, as illustrated,such user-viewable indicia can include a generic descriptor for thecorresponding fuel additive (for example, one of the selectioninterfaces 31 has a first user-viewable indicia 33 comprising the word“detergent” to generically characterize the type of fuel additive thatcorresponds to that selection interface 31 while another of theselection interfaces 32 has a first user-viewable indicia 34 comprisingthe word “lubricant” to similarly generically characterize the fueladditive that corresponds to the second selection interface 34).

As another example, and as also illustrated in FIG. 3, one or more ofthe selection interfaces can be accompanied by a depiction of atrademark 35 or 36 such that an end user will perceive and understandthat upon selection of a particular interface 31 or 32 the user willthereby be indicating selection of a fuel additive that corresponds tothe depicted trademark. As yet another example (not illustrated), asingle selection interface can correlate to selection of a correspondingplurality of specific fuel additives (and again, generic descriptorsand/or trademarks can be used to characterize such a pre-definedgrouping of fuel additives).

In a given embodiment it may also be desirable to display otherinformation to an end user. Such information can be displayed in eithera static or dynamic fashion and can include, but is not limited to,pricing information for available fuel additives, information regardingpotential or measured benefits as concerns usage of such fuel additives,cautions regarding the usage of such fuel additives (including personalhealth cautions, performance cautions, environmental concerns, and soforth), legal notices as correspond to given fuel additives, andrecommended usage comments as corresponds to one or more of the fueladditives, to name a few. Some or all of these types of informationalcontent can be provided in any suitable way. For example, an activedisplay can be used at the point of dispensation (or fuel and/or fueladditive selection). As another example, a hard copy printout or otherpresentation of such information can be similarly presented to the enduser. As yet another example, some or all of such information can bepresented in an audiblized manner (either alone or in conjunction withother presentation mechanisms and approaches).

So configured, the fuel additive selector 26 serves to facilitateselection of at least one fuel additive to be automatically combinedwith a liquid fuel to be dispensed to an end user. In particular thisselector 26 serves to facilitate such a selection by the end userthemselves. Such a fuel additive selector 26 can be comprised of afixed-purpose mechanism and/or can be comprised partially or fully or aprogrammable platform, with such architectural choices being wellunderstood in the art.

In a preferred embodiment such an end-user fuel dispensing station 20will also include a combiner 28 to effect the desired automaticcombination of the selected fuel with the selected fuel additive(s).Such a combiner 28 can be configured in a variety of ways and willtypically comprise a suitable conduit leading to each fuel or fueladditive supply (and/or in input that operably couples to suchconduits), valves as appropriate to control the selected flow of suchliquids, and an output leading to a conduit (or conduits) to facilitatethe delivery of the fuel and fuel additive to the end user's fuelstorage container.

In general, such a combiner can serve to combine the fuel and fueladditives prior to dispensation to the end user's fuel container and/orto effect such a combination of fuel and fuel additive within the enduser's fuel container. To illustrate, and referring now to FIG. 4, thecombiner 28 can serve to combine the fuel 21 (as represented by theletter “F”) with a fuel additive 24 (as represented by the letter “A”)as introduced by a selector-controlled valve 40 within a mixing chamberprior to dispensing the combined fuel/fuel additive mixture (asrepresented by the letters “FA”) via an output conduit 41 to an enduser's fuel container 42 (such as, for example, a gasoline tank in anautomobile). Such an approach may be particularly useful when thecombiner 28 and/or the fuel additive selector 26 has a real timecapability to accurately monitor the quantity of fuel 21 that is flowinginto the combiner 28 to thereby assure that a correct quantity of fueladditive 24 is being added thereto and combined therewith prior toadmission to the end user's fuel container 42.

As will be well understood by those skilled in the art, the combiner 28can combine these materials through turbulent action as may resultthrough the admission and passage of such fluids into and through thecombiner and/or may be partially or fully facilitated by use of one ormore mixing mechanisms (not shown) (such as, but not limited to, movingpaddles, undulating surfaces, ultrasonic energy, and so forth).

As another illustration, and referring now to FIG. 5, the combiner 28can serve instead to direct measured quantities of fuel 21 and fueladditive 24 (using, for example, corresponding fluid flow control values52 and 51 respectively) into the end user's fuel container 42 where theactual combination of the fuel and fuel additive occurs. For example,the combiner 28 can provide a liquid fuel and first fuel additiveend-user dispensing output that comprises a dual output conduitarrangement 53 and 54 where each conduit supports dispensation of acorresponding substance. Such a configuration will readily supportvarious modes of dispensation including parallel dispensation of both(or all) fuel and fuel additive(s) as well as seriatim delivery schemeswhere, for example, the fuel additive is dispensed subsequent todispensation of the fuel (which example comprises the illustrationdepicted in FIG. 5).

Other configurations are of course possible. For example, the combiner28 can comprise a single output conduit wherein the combiner permitsonly seriatim flow of the fuel and fuel additive. This configurationwould permit, for example, a given fuel additive to be delivered firstinto the end user's fuel container followed by dispensation of theliquid fuel.

Such elements, and indeed liquid material combiners in general, arerelatively well understood in the art. And, insofar as these teachingsare generally applicable to use with all or virtually all such known(and likely hereafter developed) combiner architectures, additionaldescription will not be set forth herein for the sake of brevity and thepreservation of focus.

Numerous benefits are derived through deployment and usage of suchembodiments. End users are now able to obtain one or more fuel additivesto more appropriately suit their individual needs, circumstances,operating conditions, and the like. Notwithstanding such a potentiallybroad and generous availability of fuel additive mixes, fuel suppliersare not required to pre-mix, transport, and individually store each andevery one of these mixes. Such circumstances provide particular benefitto end users who require or prefer relatively unusual mixes, and evenrelatively rare mixes can now be as relatively available as highlycommon mixes. Such a paradigm also supports potentially greater consumerchoice. For example, a given end-user fuel dispensing station can offera number of different fuel additives that are each intended to address asimilar need (such as serving as an engine detergent). The end user thenhas the choice of selecting a desired fuel additive by, for example,acting upon brand reliance or preference.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety ofmodifications, alterations, and combinations can be made with respect tothe above described embodiments without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, andcombinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventiveconcept. For example, the end-user fuel dispensing station can beprovided with one or more active displays to facilitate a more dynamicpresentation of information including but not limited to the availablechoice of fuel additives, a corresponding price for such fuel additives,the fueling and additive combination process, and so forth.

1. A method comprising: providing an end-user liquid fuel dispenser;providing at least one fuel additive; providing at least one selectoroperably coupled to the at least one fuel additive; when the selectorhas been selected, dispensing a liquid fuel to an end-user which liquidfuel has been automatically combined with the at least one fuel additiveresponsive to the at least one selector.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein when the selector has not been selected, dispensing the liquidfuel to the end-user exclusive of the at least one fuel additive.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 wherein providing an end-user liquid fuel dispensercomprises: providing a plurality of liquid fuels; providing a fuelselector operably coupled to the plurality of liquid fuels.
 4. Themethod of claim 3 wherein dispensing a liquid fuel to an end-user whichliquid fuel has been automatically combined with the at least one fueladditive further comprises dispensing a liquid fuel to an end-user ashas been selected via the fuel selector, which liquid fuel has beenautomatically combined with the at least one fuel additive.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 wherein dispensing a liquid fuel comprises dispensingat least one of: gasoline; diesel fuel; a bio-diesel fuel; kerosene;propane; hydrogen; butane.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein providing atleast one fuel additive comprises providing at least one of: anantioxidant; a dispersant; a cetane improver; a combustion improver; adetergent; a fuel-borne catalyst; a catalyst protector; a catalyticconverter poison scavenger; a friction modifier; a lubricity additive;an octane improver; a colorant; a marker; an identifying odor; a mixtureof any of an antioxidant, a dispersant, a cetane improver, a combustionimprover, a detergent, a fuel-borne catalyst, a catalyst protector, acatalytic converter poison scavenger, a friction modifier, a lubricityadditive, an octane improver, a colorant, a marker, and an identifyingodor.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein providing at least one fueladditive comprises providing a plurality of fuel additives.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 wherein providing a plurality of fuel additivescomprises providing at least some fuel additives that differ from oneanother.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein providing at least some fueladditives that differ from one another comprises providing at least somefuel additives that differ from one another with respect to chemicalcontent.
 10. The method of claim 8 wherein providing at least some fueladditives that differ from one another comprises providing at least somefuel additives that differ from one another with respect to proportionalchemical content.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein providing a selectorcomprises providing an end-user accessible selector.
 12. The method ofclaim 1 wherein providing an end-user accessible selector comprisesproviding a user interface comprising at least one of: a hapticinterface; an audio interface; a wireless interface.
 13. The method ofclaim 12 wherein the haptic interface comprises at least one of: atleast one push button; at least one toggle switch; at least onerotatable device; a touch sensitive display; a keypad.
 14. The method ofclaim 12 wherein the audio interface comprises a speech recognizer. 15.The method of claim 12 wherein the wireless interface comprises at leastone of: a radio frequency identification tag-based interface; a radiofrequency carrier receiver; an optical carrier receiver; an ultrasoniccarrier receiver.
 16. The method of claim 1 wherein providing a selectorcomprises providing at least one user-viewable indicia, which indiciacorresponds to the at least one fuel additive.
 17. The method of claim16 wherein providing at least one user-viewable indicia comprisesproviding a depiction of a trademark, such that upon selection of thedepiction of the trademark, a user thereby indicates selection of thecorresponding at least one fuel additive.
 18. The method of claim 1 andfurther comprising: providing a second selector; and wherein dispensinga liquid fuel to an end-user which liquid fuel has been combined withthe at least one fuel additive further comprises combining the liquidfuel with an amount of the at least one fuel additive as a function, atleast in part, of the second selector.
 19. An end-user fuel dispensingstation comprising: a supply of at least a first liquid fuel; a supplyof at least a first fuel additive; a first fuel additive selectoroperably coupled to the supply of at least a first fuel additive; anautomatic combiner responsive to the first fuel additive selector andhaving: an input operably coupled to the supply of at least the firstliquid fuel and the supply of at least a first fuel additive; a liquidfuel plus first fuel additive end-user dispensing output.
 20. Theend-user fuel dispensing station of claim 19 wherein the first liquidfuel comprises at least one of: gasoline; diesel fuel; a bio-dieselfuel; kerosene; propane; hydrogen; butane.
 21. The end-user fueldispensing station of claim 19 and further comprising: a supply of atleast a second liquid fuel, which second liquid fuel is different fromthe first liquid fuel; a liquid fuel selector operably coupled to thesupply of at least the first liquid fuel and the supply of at least thesecond liquid fuel, and wherein the automatic combiner input is furtherselectively coupled to the supply of the at least a first liquid fueland the supply of the at least a second liquid fuel.
 22. The end-userfuel dispensing station of claim 19 wherein the supply of at least afirst fuel additive comprises a supply of at least one of: anantioxidant; a dispersant; a cetane improver; a combustion improver; adetergent; a fuel-borne catalyst; a catalyst protector; a catalyticconverter poison scavenger; a friction modifier; a lubricity additive;an octane improver; a colorant; a marker; an identifying odor; a mixtureof any of an antioxidant, a dispersant, a cetane improver, a combustionimprover, a detergent, a fuel-borne catalyst, a catalyst protector, acatalytic converter poison scavenger, a friction modifier, a lubricityadditive, an octane improver, a colorant, a marker, and an identifyingodor.
 23. The end-user fuel dispensing station of claim 19 wherein thefirst fuel additive selector comprises an end-user accessible selector.24. The end-user fuel dispensing station of claim 23 wherein theend-user accessible selector comprises at least one of: a hapticinterface; an audio interface; a wireless interface.
 25. The end-userfuel dispensing station of claim 23 wherein the haptic interfacecomprises at least one of: at least one push button; at least one toggleswitch; at least one rotatable device; a touch sensitive display; akeypad.
 26. The end-user fuel dispensing station of claim 23 wherein theaudio interface comprises a speech recognizer.
 27. The end-user fueldispensing station of claim 23 wherein the wireless interface comprisesat least one of: a radio frequency identification tag-based interface; aradio frequency carrier receiver; an optical carrier receiver; anultrasonic carrier receiver.
 28. The end-user fuel dispensing station ofclaim 19 wherein the first fuel additive selector comprises at least oneuser-viewable indicia, which indicia corresponds to the at least onefuel additive.
 29. The end-user fuel dispensing station of claim 28wherein the at least one user-viewable indicia comprises a depiction ofa trademark, such that upon selection of the depiction of the trademark,a user thereby indicates selection of the corresponding at least onefuel additive.
 30. The end-user fuel dispensing station of claim 19wherein the first fuel additive selector comprises selection means forfacilitating selection of at least one fuel additive to be automaticallycombined with a liquid fuel to be dispensed to an end user.
 31. Theend-user fuel dispensing station of claim 30 wherein the selection meansfacilitate selection of the at least one fuel additive by an end user.32. A method of dispensing any of a plurality of liquid fuels to an enduser as mixed with such fuel additives as may be selected by the enduser, comprising: providing access to a plurality of liquid fuels;providing access to at least one fuel additive; providing a liquid fuelselection interface; providing a fuel additive selection interface;dispensing a selected liquid fuel to an end-user as selected by anend-user as a function, at least in part, of the liquid fuel selectioninterface, which selected liquid fuel has been automatically combinedwith a fuel additive as selected via the fuel additive selectioninterface.
 33. The method of claim 32 wherein providing access to atleast one fuel additive comprises providing access to a plurality ofdiffering fuel additives.
 34. The method of claim 32 and furthercomprising: providing information to an end-user regarding selection ofa fuel additive.
 35. The method of claim 34 wherein providinginformation to an end-user regarding selection of a fuel additivecomprises providing information as a function, at least in part, of thefuel additive selection interface.
 36. The method of claim 35 whereinproviding information comprises providing information regarding at leastone of: a price as corresponds to the fuel additive; a benefit ascorresponds to the fuel additive; a caution as corresponds to the fueladditive; a legal notice as corresponds to the fuel additive;recommended usage as corresponds to the fuel additive.
 37. The method ofclaim 34 wherein providing information comprises providing informationvia at least one of: an active display; a hard copy printout; anaudiblization.
 38. An apparatus comprising: a liquid fuel supply input;at least a first fuel additive input; a first fuel additive selectoroperably coupled to the first fuel additive input; an automatic combinerresponsive to the first fuel additive selector and having: an inputoperably coupled to the liquid fuel input and the first fuel additiveinput; a liquid fuel and first fuel additive end-user dispensing output.39. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein the liquid fuel supply inputfacilitates operable coupling to a supply of liquid fuel that comprisesat least one of: gasoline; diesel fuel; a bio-diesel fuel; kerosene;propane; hydrogen; butane.
 40. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein thefirst fuel additive input facilitates operable coupling to a supply offuel additive that comprises at least one of: an antioxidant; adispersant; a cetane improver; a combustion improver; a detergent; afuel-borne catalyst; a catalyst protector; a catalytic converter poisonscavenger; a friction modifier; a lubricity additive; an octaneimprover; a colorant; a marker; an identifying odor; a mixture of any ofan antioxidant, a dispersant, a cetane improver, a combustion improver,a detergent, a fuel-borne catalyst, a catalyst protector, a catalyticconverter poison scavenger, a friction modifier, a lubricity additive,an octane improver, a colorant, a marker, and an identifying odor. 41.The apparatus of claim 38 wherein the first fuel additive selectorcomprises an end-user accessible selector.
 42. The apparatus of claim 41wherein the end-user accessible selector comprises at least one of: ahaptic interface; an audio interface; a wireless interface.
 43. Theapparatus of claim 42 wherein the haptic interface comprises at leastone of: at least one push button; at least one toggle switch; at leastone rotatable device; a touch sensitive display; a keypad.
 44. Theapparatus of claim 42 wherein the audio interface comprises a speechrecognizer.
 45. The apparatus of claim 42 wherein the wireless interfacecomprises at least one of: a radio frequency identification tag-basedinterface; a radio frequency carrier receiver; an optical carrierreceiver; an ultrasonic carrier receiver.
 46. The apparatus of claim 38wherein the first fuel additive selector comprises at least oneuser-viewable indicia, which indicia corresponds to the at least onefuel additive.